Influenza viruses are made up of an internal ribonucleoprotein core containing a segmented single-stranded RNA genome and an outer lipoprotein envelope lined by a matrix protein. Influenza A and B viruses each contain eight segments of single stranded RNA with negative polarity. The influenza A genome encodes at least eleven polypeptides. Segments 1-3 encode the three polypeptides, making up the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Segment 1 encodes the polymerase complex protein PB2. The remaining polymerase proteins PB1 and PA are encoded by segment 2 and segment 3, respectively. In addition, segment 1 of some influenza A strains encodes a small protein, PB1-F2, produced from an alternative reading frame within the PB1 coding region. Segment 4 encodes the hemagglutinin (HA) surface glycoprotein involved in cell attachment and entry during infection. Segment 5 encodes the nucleocapsid nucleoprotein (NP) polypeptide, the major structural component associated with viral RNA. Segment 6 encodes a neuraminidase (NA) envelope glycoprotein. Segment 7 encodes two matrix proteins, designated M1 and M2, which are translated from differentially spliced mRNAs. Segment 8 encodes NS1 and NS2 (NEP), two nonstructural proteins, which are translated from alternatively spliced mRNA variants.
The eight genome segments of influenza B encode 11 proteins. The three largest genes code for components of the RNA polymerase, PB1, PB2 and PA. Segment 4 encodes the HA protein. Segment 5 encodes NP. Segment 6 encodes the NA protein and the NB protein. Both proteins, NB and NA, are translated from overlapping reading frames of a biscistronic mRNA. Segment 7 of influenza B also encodes two proteins: M1 and BM2. The smallest segment encodes two products: NS1 is translated from the full length RNA, while NS2 is translated from a spliced mRNA variant.
Vaccines capable of producing a protective immune response specific for influenza viruses have been produced for over 50 years. Vaccines can be characterized as whole virus vaccines, split virus vaccines, surface antigen vaccines and live attenuated virus vaccines. While appropriate formulations of any of these vaccine types is able to produce a systemic immune response, live attenuated virus vaccines are also able to stimulate local mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract.
FluMist™ is a live, attenuated vaccine that protects children and adults from influenza illness (Belshe et al. (1998) The efficacy of live attenuated, cold-adapted, trivalent, intranasal influenza virus vaccine in children N Engl J Med 338:1405-12; Nichol et al. (1999) Effectiveness of live, attenuated intranasal influenza virus vaccine in healthy, working adults: a randomized controlled trial JAMA 282:137-44). FluMist™ vaccine strains contain HA and NA gene segments derived from the currently circulating wild-type strains along with six gene segments, PB1, PB2, PA, NP, M and NS, from a common master donor virus (MDV). The MDV for influenza A strains of FluMist (MDV-A), was created by serial passage of the wt A/Ann Arbor/6/60 (A/AA/6/60) strain in primary chicken kidney tissue culture at successively lower temperatures (Maassab (1967) Adaptation and growth characteristics of influenza virus at 25 degrees C. Nature 213:612-4). MDV-A replicates efficiently at 25° C. (ca, cold adapted), but its growth is restricted at 38 and 39° C. (ts, temperature sensitive). Additionally, this virus does not replicate in the lungs of infected ferrets (att, attenuation). The ts phenotype is believed to contribute to the attenuation of the vaccine in humans by restricting its replication in all but the coolest regions of the respiratory tract. The stability of this property has been demonstrated in animal models and clinical studies. In contrast to the ts phenotype of influenza strains created by chemical mutagenesis, the ts property of MDV-A did not revert following passage through infected hamsters or in shed isolates from children (for a recent review, see Murphy & Coelingh (2002) Principles underlying the development and use of live attenuated cold-adapted influenza A and B virus vaccines Viral Immunol 15:295-323).
Clinical studies in over 20,000 adults and children involving 12 separate 6:2 reassortant strains have shown that these vaccines are attenuated, safe and efficacious (Belshe et al. (1998) The efficacy of live attenuated, cold-adapted, trivalent, intranasal influenza virus vaccine in children N Engl J Med 338:1405-12; Boyce et al. (2000) Safety and immunogenicity of adjuvanted and unadjuvanted subunit influenza vaccines administered intranasally to healthy adults Vaccine 19:217-26; Edwards et al. (1994) A randomized controlled trial of cold adapted and inactivated vaccines for the prevention of influenza A disease J Infect Dis 169:68-76; Nichol et al. (1999) Effectiveness of live, attenuated intranasal influenza virus vaccine in healthy, working adults: a randomized controlled trial JAMA 282:137-44). Reassortants carrying the six internal genes of MDV-A and the two HA and NA gene segments of the wt virus (6:2 reassortant) consistently maintain ca, ts and att phenotypes (Maassab et al. (1982) Evaluation of a cold-recombinant influenza virus vaccine in ferrets J Infect Dis 146:780-900).
To date, all commercially available influenza vaccines in the United States have been propagated in embryonated hen's eggs. Although influenza virus grows well in hen's eggs, production of vaccine is dependent on the availability of eggs. Supplies of eggs must be organized, and strains for vaccine production selected months in advance of the next flue season, limiting the flexibility of this approach, and often resulting in delays and shortages in production and distribution. Unfortunately, some influenza vaccine strains, such as the prototype A/Fujian/411/02 strain that circulated during the 2003-04 season, do not replicate well in embryonated chicken eggs, and have to be isolated by cell culture a costly and time consuming procedure. The present invention further provides a new technology to increase the ability of vaccine strains to replicate in embryonated chicken eggs. Furthermore, the present invention allows for more efficient and cost effective production of influenza vaccines.
Systems for producing influenza viruses in cell culture have also been developed in recent years (See, e.g., Furminger. Vaccine Production, in Nicholson et al. (eds) Textbook of Influenza pp. 324-332; Merten et al. (1996) Production of influenza virus in cell cultures for vaccine preparation, in Cohen & Shafferman (eds) Novel Strategies in Design and Production of Vaccines pp. 141-151). Typically, these methods involve the infection of suitable immortalized host cells with a selected strain of virus. While eliminating many of the difficulties related to vaccine production in hen's eggs, not all pathogenic strains of influenza grow well and can be produced according to established tissue culture methods. In addition, many strains with desirable characteristics, e.g., attenuation, temperature sensitivity and cold adaptation, suitable for production of live attenuated vaccines, have not been successfully grown in tissue culture using established methods.
Production of influenza viruses from recombinant DNA would significantly increase the flexibility and utility of tissue culture methods for influenza vaccine production. Recently, systems for producing influenza A viruses from recombinant plasmids incorporating cDNAs encoding the viral genome have been reported (See, e.g., Neumann et al. (1999) Generation of influenza A virus entirely from cloned cDNAs. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96:9345-9350; Fodor et al. (1999) Rescue of influenza A virus from recombinant DNA. J. Virol 73:9679-9682; Hoffmann et al. (2000) A DNA transfection system for generation of influenza A virus from eight plasmids Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:6108-6113; WO 01/83794). These systems offer the potential to produce recombinant viruses, and reassortant viruses expressing the immunogenic HA and NA proteins from any selected strain. However, unlike influenza A virus, no reports have been published describing plasmid-only systems for influenza B virus.
Additionally, none of the currently available plasmid only systems are suitable for generating attenuated, temperature sensitive, cold adapted strains suitable for live attenuated vaccine production. The present invention provides an eight plasmid system for the generation of influenza B virus entirely from cloned cDNA, and methods for the production of attenuated live influenza A and B virus suitable for vaccine formulations, such as live virus vaccine formulations useful for intranasal administration, as well as numerous other benefits that will become apparent upon review of the specification.